


A Velvet Bear

by TheSnowyOwl



Category: Vampire Knight (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-24
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-11-08 16:18:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17984489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSnowyOwl/pseuds/TheSnowyOwl
Summary: Following Zero's tragic death, his two daughters come across a precious piece of the past, one that recalls a nostalgic event from almost a thousand years ago.





	A Velvet Bear

Ren hadn’t seen much of her sister since their mother announced her plans. They both knew it was coming, but the sudden death of their father was a sharp blow to the family, and neither child could settle themselves ready for their task just yet. Their mother understood this, and had them focus on something else while she planned in the background. 

There was an estate, one of several owned by the Kuran family, unused and out of sight. It was an ideal place for Ai and Ren to take Kaname once he was awake, as there would be nothing particularly familiar to him there. With that reasoning in mind, Yuuki would not step foot there. Instead, she had the servants help her children pack and move their things. 

Deciding she’d had enough of solitude, Ren made a move to find her sister. The house they’d be living in was full of dust and needed thorough care to restore to glory. She briskly walked up the stairs, footsteps creaking as she ascended them, and strode to Ai’s door. She raised a hand, but paused. Yes, she was definitely there, she could smell her blood and some light perfume. With a gentle knock, she stood and waited.

“Come in.” 

Her voice was gentle, almost hushed. Ren opened the door and let herself in, quietly closing it behind her. Ai was stood with her back to her, one of her many cases open on her bed. She didn’t make a move to turn, so she approached instead, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

“What is it, Ai?” 

Ai looked at her little sister with eyes that were rimmed with tears. In her hands she held a ragged burgundy bear. It was old and worn, with limbs that were stitched back together multiple times and patches sewn on where stuffing poked through. 

Turning her gaze back to the bear, she began to tell her sister a tale - one of the first Christmas she remembered. 

* * *

Outside her window the snow looked like a sparkling blanket that kissed the trees and hugged the Earth. It fell from thick grey clouds and billowed in the wind, a sign of a coming blizzard. Though it was warm in the house and the scent of cooking filled their home, Ai could sense the distant chill of winter. 

Her mother, Yuuki, sat a short distance away at her desk. She was probably working, as usual, so Ai knew better than to disturb her. However, it was Yuuki who let out a sigh and caught her daughter’s attention. 

“The smell of snow seems stronger this year, don’t you think?” 

Ai thought it a strange question, noticing the faraway look on her mother’s face.

“Many events in my life happened as it snowed, but yet it only seems to ever remind me of…”

The grandfather clock nearby chimed loudly, breaking her from finishing her sentence. 

“Zero. He should be here any minute.” 

The mention of Zero made both girls smile, though both smiles held completely different meanings to one another. Perhaps, Ai thought, she’d completed her sentence after all. 

Yuuki got up from her seat and tucked it under the desk carefully, then rushed to the mirror for a quick check of her appearance. Ai gazed down at her own clothing, a red velvet dress with thick tights and shiny black shoes. After observing her mother preening herself, Ai patted down her own hair, checking that the matching red bow was properly fastened in its place. 

Once she was satisfied with how she looked, Yuuki turned from the mirror and made her way over to her daughter, scooping her up with relative ease. Right on time there was a knock at the door, and Yuuki carried her daughter out from the living room to answer it. Ai felt excitement wrack through her body for the first time all day, impatiently reaching out when Yuuki hesitated her own reach at the door handle. 

Upon opening the door, the two girls were met with a bluster of wind dusted with snow and a figure who was covered in it. Though he was heavily dressed for the winter, the scarf around his face couldn’t hide the flush of his cheeks and nose, or the reddening of the tips of his ears. 

Tucked under his arm was the stump of a large tree that he had evidently dragged with him to their home. Small twigs and needles were mingled with the snow on his coat and stuck out of his hair. He looked positively grumpy in that brief moment, but something about that made Yuuki laugh in such a hearty way that both Ai and Zero’s faces melted into gentle smiles - though Zero’s was unseen beneath his scarf. 

Yuuki stepped out of the way to allow Zero in through the door, the two making idle conversation over things positively mundane to Ai, like work and other adult matters. Yuuki set Ai down and helped Zero with his coat and scarf, stopping to pick the twigs out of his hair with a warm smile on her face. Ai wanted to talk to Zero, but was cut off before she could even start by the mention of dinner. 

At dinner, the three sat together at the table, helping themselves to a generous feast. They pulled little crackers that loudly popped, wore paper crowns and told bad jokes. Every time work would come up, Ai would do her best to change the conversation - whether it be by singing, bringing up something embarrassing or projecting her vocal chords with a merry carol. 

Afterwards, the trio stood the tree in its glory in the living room. Yuuki fetched water for the tree while Zero helped the servants carry down the boxes of decorations from upstairs. Ai sat patiently on a plush stool, humming a little tune to herself and inhaling the fresh scent of snow and pine mingled with the fading smells of a dinner that left her full to the brim. Vampires didn’t really need to eat much in the way of human food, but that wasn’t going to stop them.

When Zero and Yuuki returned, the three decorated the tree together. Yuuki wrapped the tinsel while Zero wrapped the lights, the two almost becoming entangled together at one point - leaving them both blushing and slightly flustered. Ai, with a little help, hung baubles on the tree. When she needed to move upwards but could no longer reach, she opted to stand on the little stool. 

Finally, there was the tree topper. From the bottom of one of the boxes, Yuuki took out a glittering star and held it out to Ai. Carefully, Ai took the star from her mother’s hands. She looked up at the tree and realised that, even with her stool, she wasn’t going to reach. Gentle hands gripped her sides and she soon found herself lifted high up into the air by Zero, allowing her to be level with the top of the tree. 

With a grin, Ai placed the star on the top of the tree, giving it a push with a tubby little finger to keep it straight. Zero brought her close as Yuuki came closer and the three embraced together in front of the warm lights of a sparkling tree. It was everything she’d wanted and more. 

After another hour of laughing, singing and talking, it was time for Ai to go to bed. The two adults held a hand of Ai’s each and took her up to her room. Zero tucked her in while Yuuki put on her nightlight. Ai gripped Zero’s sleeve suddenly, catching him slightly off guard.

“I love you, Daddy Zero.”

Unusually, Zero didn’t correct her. He paused, his eyes softening, a smile gracing his lips that made her feel warm and safe. 

“Goodnight, Ai.” 

It was long after Zero left and Yuuki was asleep that Ai went downstairs. Dawn was not breaking for several more hours, but she couldn’t wait. Tiptoeing into the living room, Ai flipped the little switch and turned on the lights of the tree. She sat down and that’s when it came into sight, tucked carefully at the back for her to find. 

Ai crawled under the tree and, reaching a small hand forward, pulled out a velvet bear. It was burgundy in colour, with a big golden bow wrapped around its neck and a tag that said her name. The handwriting was easy to recognise since they started the exchange diary recently. Zero.

Cradling the teddy close to her, Ai inhaled the scent of raspberry and Zero’s cologne. If only he knew that the greatest gift of all was the happiness he brought to her mother, the greatest gift of all was the love he gave to her and to Ai.  _He_  was her greatest gift of all. 

It was the best present she would ever receive, because it was her first that she remembered from someone truly precious in her life.

* * *

Ren didn’t know when she started to cry, but tears streaked down her face, dampening her cheeks. Ai was in floods of tears at this point, her teddy tightly held to her chest. The two held onto eachother as the sun set outside, missing their father more than ever before. 

_After all that time, that ragged, loved bear still held traces of his scent._


End file.
